I love my 590 Special Purpose! I love the 870 too but sometimes I'd get shells stuck between the shell lifter and mag tube so that's the main reason I switched to a Mossberg 590 for home defense because the lifter sits flush with the bolt and I can just drop shells into the mag tube. I know a bayonet isn't really practical for anything but I got one anyway!

It's a Mossberg 590 Special Purpose, it doesn't have the thick barrel like the 590A1. That doesn't matter to me though because it's still a great shotgun. I think the bayonet makes the gun look very intimidating!

I think that for most people the 590, which is the souped up 500 and not the mil-spec 590A1, is the best bet for most shooters.

It has the heat shield, which is a practical addition to a 500, and the bayonet lug, which is not really practical at all but provides some fun if one wants. Putting a heat shield on a 590A1 means going aftermarket and DIY.

The 590A1 is HEAVY. The thick walled barrel offers no particular advantage to the civilian shooter. As noted, it was to make the barrel more resistant to accidental shipboard dinging, where one might KERRANG!!! the thing off of a watertight door or its opening whilst running full speed. The 590 can use any barrel that fits a 500. It remains lighter and handier than the 590A1 when fitted with a sidesaddle, a lighted forearm, or other added weight.

The 590 is blued rather than parkerized. Whether that is an advantage is a matter of taste.

To my mind, the only reason to get a 590A1 are to get the 8+1 capacity of the 20" gun or to get the ghost rings for an affordable amount. The sights alone are a good deal of the markup difference if the price to acquire them separately is a reliable indicator. I only see a GRS setup as desirable for a longer range slug shot capability, again something that a sailor or a Marine might have more call for than any civilian buyer.

Can't speak to your other question, but an AUTHENTIC M-9 like the one pictured, or Marine Corps bayonet, (the USMC uses one that is very much like a Ka-Bar knife these days), are pick your poison for about $100.00+ shipping from an internet retailer like Knife Center of the Internet.

You can get knock off M-9 bayos for about half that if you don't mind using/relying upon Chinese mystery blade steel. The real deals are not made out of cheap stainless steel.

The Mossberg bayo mount is identical to the current M-16 family's mount, (M-7, M-9, the USMC model). They can mount any bayonet that the service rifle with a mount can. I haven't tried it personally, but the USMC bayo should work just fine.

The barrel metal on shotguns is too thin to withstand the forces generated by using a bayonet as it is intended to be used. Same thing happened in Nam with the early M-16s with much thicker barrel walls.

If it's strictly for looks, have at it. But utility's very limited....

The OKC S3 Marine Fighting Bayonet grip is about 1/16" longer than the M-9. So is the Army's Tanto bladed version. They will fit rifles. They may NOT fit shotguns quite as well -- you are warned.

The M-9 is, in fact, cheap 420 stainless steel and won't hold an edge. It is meant more as a corrosion-resistant sharp pry bar only without a full tang. If you want decent steel, as in a knife, just like it get the 1095 carbon steel bladed M-10 -- it'll be at least moderately useful as a knife but you'll have to maintain it a bit more.

I have owned a Win 1300 Defender, Mav 88, no problems at all and fired many a 870 and 500 without any gripes but the 590A1 is a beast and will take more abuse. I will never bash any of the other good pump scatter guns but the 590A1... is another level of durable.

Dave, to answer your question, yes, I had Bayonet Training at Sand Hill, Ft Benning, Georgia, and Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) in Germany, as well as
"engagement" in SE Asia in '66-'67 with both the M14 and M16.

There's no doubt in my mind that I could still use a bayonet more physically proficient than most (even at my age), as well as being "mentally" prepared for such contact.

Didn't mean to get off topic, I'm just answering your question.
If somebody wants a bayonet on their HD weapon, I say go for it.
Staring at a barrel is intimidating, but not as scary as staring at a 10" blade in your face!

Dave,
I have tested your theory regarding the bayonet on the 590a1 with the heavy barrel and its zero never changed. Have you actually ever handled a 590a1 heavy barrel, I am almost positive that if the knife was not there you could use the barrel as a bludgeoning tool to beat an enemy to death with, it must weaigh the thick end of 3 pounds.

I think the bayonette is more of a confidence builder, based on my time in Nam during 65 to 66 as a Marine, but then I wasn't a grunt and I wasn't in the front line. It also has psych advantages when it comes to crowd control. My concern isn't so much for the barrel of the heavy Mossberg military model, but the walls of the magazine since that is what the bayonette attaches to on a Mossberg.

I found the 590A1 20" 8+1 too long/front heavy to wield properly and so when I bought my own A1 went with an extended 5+1 (so 6 or 7 + 1) 18-1/2". Much more handy I feel. The standard 590 may be perfection out of the box (both with a +4 SpeedFeed stock).

Kaylorinhi, thanks for the pic. It is of a Mossberg with a great Marine S3 bayonet -- basically an elongated Kabar for the M-16. An excellent tool (one of, if not the, best overall bayonet today). So, look at the distance of the guard from the back of the magazine tube nut extension where it should be resting. That is NOT a very secure mount and probably should not be trusted regardless of barrel or mag tube weight. Compare this to the earlier pic of the Mossberg with an M-9 and you'll see how much further back it sits on the mount.

Sorry, but the shotgun is practically limited to the earlier AR bayonets that are quite available. And their size, shape, and weight are probably better for that shotgun as well, including being shorter. By the way, NONE of these blades are anywhere near 10 inches -- that was WW II. In fact, the longest , the S3, is 8".

Just throwing this out there but I have an H&R Pardner pump which is an all steel, 870 knock-off. The adjustable stock and pistol grip is for an 870 and it was a perfect fit. Gun was ordered from CTD and the stock came from Amazon. Cost was around $250 total for the budget minded.

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